3 December 2019 - Advent reflection on St. Francis Xavier - by Deacon John McGregor

       In today’s readings from Isaiah, we hear the incredible prediction that a new king is coming, a descendant of David (sprout from the stump of Jesse), who will rule with justice, care for the poor, slay the wicked, and establish a kingdom where the wolf is a guest of the lamb, the leopard lies down with the kid, and a child plays by the Cobra’s den. In our modern experience, often characterized as a dog-eat-dog world, we may find it hard to imagine that such a kingdom exists.

       But this is precisely the kingdom we pray for every time we say the Our Father. We pray that the world become a place where God’s rule directs everyone’s heart. This is the kingdom that Jesus proclaims as already upon us. This is the kingdom where we are the beloved children of the King. 

In the 16th Century, there came forth from the wealthy and aristocratic gentry of the Basque country, a young man destined to be filled with zeal for proclaiming the Kingdom of God. Francis Xavier’s family was wealthy until shifts in the political climate forced them into a more meager existence. Francis went off to the university in Paris, where he studied philosophy and met Ignatius of Loyola. At first Francis thought Ignatius was a fool, but Ignatius ultimately prevailed and Francis joined the small band of men who took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and pledged to go to the Holy Land and convert the Muslims. This small band of men grew to become the Society of Jesus, or more commonly known as the Jesuits.

       While the small band of men never made it to the Holy Land, Francis spent his life telling others about the Kingdom of God. He traveled to Asia, Japan, India, Goa, Borneo, and many of the small island countries in the Pacific Ocean. Francis died while preaching the Gospel, far from home. He was canonized in 1622 and in 1927 was named the Patron Saint of Foreign Missions along with Therese of Lisieux.

St. Francis, pray that we will be filled with zeal for the coming of the Kingdom, and that we will work to bring it about in our own lives and in the lives of those around us.